For Hope
Intro 2012 by Jeremy Gleick and Tom Kelly. World Background The Creation of the World Eons ago, the Celestial Mother looked down upon the world, and saw that it was empty. She cried for ages upon ages, covering the world with the water of her tears. The Man of the Moon heard her crying, and came to lend her comfort. For ages upon ages they talked, and a great love grew between them. They had several children, to each of whom they granted dominion over part of the world: The Smith of Mountains, who forged great lands encrusted with mighty peaks; the Wind Dancer, who soared through the air and painted the clouds onto the sky; the Forest Gardener, who planted the first trees and watched them grow; and the Fire Breather, who filled the world with light and warmth. But the gods grew lonely; and so they created companions. The Smith of Mountains crafted clay into bodies of flesh. The Forest Gardener poured the ichor of life into these bodies, allowing them to grow and procreate. The Wind Dancer granted the bodies the motion of thought. The Fire Breather gave the bodies the strength and courage to find their purpose in existence. The Celestial Mother and the Man of the Moon placed within them the desire to be kind to their fellow beings. And so, the first people were formed. The first people spread out across the lands, creating great civilizations. Some delved into the earth, and the Smith of Mountains changed them to better build their mighty stone halls: So the first Dwarves came to be. Some ventured into the forests, and the Forest Gardener changed them to better run among the trees: So the first Elves came to be. Some traveled upon the open plains, where the Wind Dancer changed them to wander freely in the open lands: So were born the first Humans. Some journeyed into the blazing desert, and the Fire Breather transformed them to endure its heat: So the first Orcs were made. But as the people filled the world, their laughter, crying, and chatter awoke something deep beneath the world: Something that had slept there since the Celestial Mother cried her first tears: Death. And Death went to the patron god of each race, to demand that they quiet their children. Death came to the Smith of Mountains, and said: “Command your people to be silent, or I will cause them to die.” The Smith of Mountains reasoned with Death, saying: “Allow my people each to live stout and healthy for many years before you take them, and I will have them build great temples to honor you.” Death agreed, and promised that the Dwarves would live for many years before returning to the earth, and that neither sickness, nor the grasp of old age, would weaken them. And to this day, the Dwarves pay their respects to Death as they do the Smith of Mountains. Death came to the Forest Gardener, and said: “Command your people to be silent, or I will cause them to die.” The Forest Gardener sang a sorrowful song, sad that her people could not have both laughter and the time to enjoy it. Death was so moved by the Forest Gardener’s song that he said: “Teach your people to sing lullabies as beautiful as your song, and I will grant them life eternal as long as they stay themselves from the clash of battle.” The Forest Gardener agreed, and to this day the Elves sing lullabies to Death, and he does not come to them save in violence. Death came to the Wind Dancer, and said: “Command your people to be silent, or I will cause them to die.” The Wind Dancer said: “I will silence my people.” And she swiftly took back from the Humans the motion of thought which she had given them, and they fell into a slumber. Death, seeing that the Humans were silent, continued onward. But in time, the Wind Dancer grew bored of her sleeping people, and returned the motion of thought to them. Death, seeing that he had been tricked, cursed the Humans with old age and disease. Death came to the Fire Breather, and said: “Command your people to be silent, or I will cause them to die.” The Fire Breather flew into anger, and cried: “My people will fill the air with the roaring of their rage and the clash of their weapons! Come slay them if you can!” And to this day, the Orcs fight defiantly against the grip of Death, who comes to them all too soon. The Founding of Wyllaria The humans, graced with the light of curiosity by the Wind-Dancer, were quickly learning how to make tools, and record their words on wood and stone. Humans flourished as their societies advanced. But to the east, in the harsh deserts of the orcs, the Fire-Breather grew jealous of the wondrous things his sister’s people created. He commanded his most powerful and devoted follower, an orc named Rajkar the Conqueror, to make war upon the human lands. Rajkar’s armies ravaged the human lands, slaying all those in their path, taking all they desired. And in the heavens, the Fire-Breather unleashed his burning might upon the Wind-Dancer, and she fell to the earth. One day, a young human man named Arn returned from the market to his village and found it burnt to the ground. With tears in his eyes, he buried his community. He sang a song of prayer to Death, pleading for his kin to be taken safely to the Celestial Mother. But someone else heard his song: Calane, a mysterious, travelling mage, was so moved by his grief, and the beauty of his song, that she fell in love with him. Together, they set off to ensure that such a tragedy never happened to their people again. They journeyed across the lands, seeking the means to defeat Rajkar and his hordes. In the mysterious forests of the elves, Calane learned the arts of magic. In the mighty halls of the dwarfs, Arn learned to fight like a true warrior. Together, they returned to the human lands and fought against the orcish invaders. Rajkar, fearing their power, sent his mightiest champion, an orc named Kvash, to destroy them. He came at Arn, but was so awed by the human's devotion and desire to protect his people that he renounced his allegiance to Rajkar and joined Arn. Calane, Arn, and Kvash united the human survivors into one resistance force, and prepared to drive Rajkar and his armies back to the desert. The night before the final battle, Arn prayed to the Celestial Mother for the strength and courage to defend his people. A sword fell from the heavens, contained within an iron sheath. But no matter how they tried, no one could pull it out. As the sun rose, Rajkar’s armies charged, roaring like feral beasts. Rajkar himself flew atop a mighty dragon, its scales red as blood. All hope seemed lost… But Arn stood upon a rock, and sang a song. He sang of the rolling hills and flowing fields of grain. He sang of the mighty towers that could be built, and of the countless stories that could be told. And the humans looked toward tomorrow, and found the courage to seek it. Kvash gripped the sword that had fallen from the heavens, and pulled with all his might. It came free, and the inscription on the sword was seen by all: Drawn with courage, held with hope It was Sayendar, the blade of the heavens. It shone with brilliance as Kvash shouted for freedom and defiance. Calane blessed Kvash’s feet, and he leapt across the sky and beheaded the dragon with a single blow. Arn led his people against the orcs, their blades singing. And in the battle, Kvash and Rajkar crossed blades, and in the final moments, both struck the other down, each finding honorable death in glorious combat, as is the way of the orcs. The broken armies of Rajkar, their general slain, retreated back to the east. The humans hailed Arn and Calane as their king and queen. Calane took on an apprentice, to whom she taught the ways of magic. This apprentice became the first of the Archmages, a line of advisers who would serve the line of monarchs as long as they reigned. Kvash, though slain, was declared to have been first Paladin, the monarch’s champion. Each champion who took up Sayendar in later days was given the same title, and the blade of heaven always rested in the hands of the monarch’s truest knight. The human towns were rebuilt stronger than ever before, and united as one nation: Wyllaria. Arn and the Calane had a child, to whom they bequeathed the crown. When the king and queen’s time had come to an end, the two peacefully passed into death. But destiny had more in store for Calane: Her mortal life lived, her true form returned to her: The Wind-Dancer ascended once more to her place as a god, and so she remains, continuing to watch over humankind to this day. The Fall of the Kingdom It was the reign of King Alor XIII. The Paladin of the realm was Jorn the Holy, a knight renowned through the kingdom for his valor and courage in the face of all challenges, however dire. The Archmage was Amarha, a wizened scholar, a woman whose knowledge of the arcane stretched back many generations, and whose kindness was widely known. The people were pleased with King Alor’s rule; his laws ensured that no village went hungry, even in times of famine. But in these times, a prophecy was uttered that spread fear and doubt throughout the kingdom, and greatly troubled the good king: :There will come a day when all hope will be buried in sorrow, :When the hands of the loyal are stained red and death itself lies conquered. :On this day the brave lions of the true monarch will stand and fight with overpowering darkness :But they will stand in vain before the blade and magic of the usurpers. :And when the gift of the gods is broken by a lifeless shell, :And all the realm is cast into darkness, :Light will be but a candle with no flickering flame :And all the world will know that true strength sits on the throne of Wyllaria. The King and his advisers made preparations for the dark times that would come. Jorn and the knights bolstered the castle’s defenses, and patrolled the roads on the lookout for threats to Wyllaria and its people. It was at this time that a young man, named Banor, came to the court. He asked to display his magical prowess, so that the Archmage Amarha would consider him as an apprentice, as Amarha had not yet begun training a successor. The King and Archmage observed Banor’s magic: He presented a jar of live mice, and a pot of dying flowers. Channeling his magic, he drained the life out of the mice and into the flowers, making the plants bloom brightly again. King Alor was impressed by such power, and urged Amarha to take on Banor as her apprentice. Amarha however, was wary of Banor’s use of magic: manipulating the energies of life itself was a dangerous power indeed, she cautioned. But the King insisted that Wyllaria needed all the strength it could find to defend itself from the approaching darkness. And so it came to pass that Amarha reluctantly accepted Banor as her apprentice and began instructing the boy in the arcane arts. In time, disaster struck. A horrid plague spread throughout the populace of the royal city, and out into the kingdom, weaving its way even into the castle’s inhabitants. Amarha and Banor spent days at a time locked away in their tower, studying the plague and trying to stop its spread, but every attempt to find a cure proved useless. Finally, with the Queen Narea and their child at his side, King Alor himself succumbed to the sickness. But as Wyllaria crumbled around him, Banor’s power only grew. For although it was not yet known to the world, the man had made a malevolent pact. He had spoken to the darkness that lay sleeping deep beneath the earth. And Death told him that if the power-hungry mage could silence ten thousand lives, then death’s mark would be laid upon him and with it the power of death itself. It is said that on the night of the king’s death, the ten thousandth life claimed by the plague, Amarha found her student sitting in the center of his chambers, the entire room covered floor to ceiling in black runes, pulsing with a dark power. And as the old Archmage realized the betrayal, she could only watch as the mark of death formed upon Banor’s hand, and the staff of death rose from the shadows into the dark wizard’s grasp. And Banor uttered the word to seal his pact, a word which would become his name forevermore: Malvakar. The sky grew black and thunder shook the city as Malvakar and Amarha fought. And so a duel took place, a battle of incredible magics never seen in the world before. But in the end, Amarha knew that even her great powers were no match for those of the usurper. And so, with the last shred of magic left in her, Amarha called to her hand not a blade of magic, but a blade of simple steel, and thrust it through her apprentice’s heart. And the dark lord Malvakar simply laughed. And so, with but a touch from the black staff, the lifeless body of the Archmage fell quietly to the floor. While darkness fell over the kingdom, Jorn the Holy, the man remembered now as the last Paladin, stood guard over the door to the Queen’s chambers. He stood as the last of the royal knights, the rest already felled by Malvakar's betrayal. But, even with the Guardian Sword Sayendar and his great skill and valour, Malvakar and his monsters eventually overwhelmed and struck down the champion, and sundered the heavenly blade Sayendar into pieces. With the royal court slain, Queen Narea barely had time to escape the castle with her child. But as she fled, Malvakar sent a curse after her. Struggling against its power, she ran into the night. What became of her or the child, nobody truly knows, but none survive the wrath of the lord of death. And so it came to pass that Malvakar took his place upon the throne of Wyllaria. Flow What Really Happened Cast Category:Games